Monthly Archives: February 2012

Post navigation

Just for today, I understand that even if my last drink was years ago, my next drunk, like the guy whose last drunk was 24 Hours ago, is just one drink away. My quantity of sobriety says little about its quality, and I have to re-examine that quality if my sobriety is riddled with anger, frustration, despair, hopelessness and a brain that processes my world with the same mind soaked with my last drunk. Even if my last drunk was months or even years ago, my next one is just as close as the man’s who woke up with a hangover this morning. Quality – not quantity. This is the what recovery is about. And our common journey continues. Just for today. – Chris M., 2012

We are learning as we go, and the experiences shed light on our own plans for proceeding. The steps we are taking in unison as well as on separate but parallel paths enhance the particular movements of us all.

We often expect perfection from ourselves, forgetting that we’re all beginners in life. The best we can do is willingly acknowledge our errors, grateful that we can always begin again on any task – grateful that we have the experiences of others to help guide us.

Life is process. We learn, we grow, share burdens, reformulate ideas, and restructure our values. Every change we make alters the steps we take, altering in turn someone else’s movements, too.

“The alcoholic is absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge. we must admit we can do nothing about it ourselves. Will power and self-knowledge will never help in the strange mental blank spots when we are tempted to drink. An alcoholic mentally is in a very sick condition. The last flicker of conviction that we can do the job ourselves must be snuffed out. The spiritual answer and the program of action are the only hope. Only spiritual principles will solve our problems. We are completely helpless apart from Divine help. Our defense against drinking must come from a Higher Power.

Have I accepted the spiritual answer and the program of action?

Meditation for the Day

Rest now until life, eternal life, flowing through your veins and heart and mind, bids you to bestir yourself. Then glad work will follow. Tired work is never effective. The strength of God’s spirit is always available to the tired mind and body. He is your physician and your healer. Look to these quiet times of communion with God for rest, for peace, for cure. Then rise refreshed in spirit and go out to work, knowing that your strength is able to meet any problems because it is reinforced by God’s power.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that the peace I have found will make me effective. I pray that I may be relieved of all strain during this day.

Inventory-taking isn’t always done in red ink. It’s a rare day when haven’t done something right. As I uncover and face my shortcomings, my many good qualities will be revealed to me also, reminding me that they have the same reality as my faults. Even when we’ve tried hard and failed, for instance, we can chalk that up as one of our greatest credits of all. I’ll try to appreciate my good qualities because they not only offset the faults, but give me a foundation on which to grow. It’s just as self-deceptive to discount what’s good in us as to justify what is not.

Can I take comfort in my positive qualities, accepting myself as a friend?

Today I Pray

If I find only defects when I look in that Fourth Step mirrow, may I be sure that I am missing something – namely my good points. Although my ultra-modesty may be approved socially, may I learn that it is just as dishonest as rationalizing away my faults. Even an out-and-out failure, if examined from all sides, may turn up a plus along with the obvious minuses.

The older some of us get in AA, the more we notice a tendency on our part to become a little bit less tolerant, a little less understanding of our relationship with the man still having trouble. We have been so long removed from the actual suffering that we are losing some of our understanding.

This is a good time to pick out the messiest case we can find and get back in the groove again. We can’t afford to forget that we, too, are alcoholics and, but for the Grace of God, we would be in just as bad shape.

We may be years away from our last drunk, but we are only one drink away from our next one. Don’t lose the common touch.

Just for today, I need to take my Program from theoretical to practical application to both my recovery and life. If I hear the motto, “Easy Does It,” I cannot interpret it to mean that I have “permission” to neglect daily responsibilities and to do what must be done today and that it means, instead, take it easy in not expecting too much of either myself or another person. “Let Go and Let God” does not mean I can expect my Higher Power to take care of what is my responsibility and which is within my capability; instead, I must realize I am letting go of my own will for myself and letting God tell me what His will is for me. “One (drink) is one too many and never enough” tells me, simply, not to try to find out what is “never enough” and not to try the first one at all. “Making amends” isn’t simply saying, “I’m sorry,” but becoming willing to accept responsibility and consequences and working harder if some of those amends are rejected. “One Day at a Time” is simple: today is all I’ve got; yesterday can’t be undone or redone, and tomorrow is no guarantee and, even if it isn’t, I have to give today my best shot because it may well reverberate into tomorrow. Today, my Program moves from theory to the practical, and it’s time to roll up the sleeves. And our common journey continues. Just for today. – Chris M., 2012

Let’s not forget to play. Our new way of life is a serious matter, but it is not intended as a punishment; nor do we need to repent and suffer for the rest of our lives. Our new way of life is intended to produce growth.

But growth takes work. And work needs play for balance. If we forget to play and be joyful, our life will become unbalanced and we will suffer needlessly.